Chute construction for coin-controlled machines



A.MLEARNARD CHUTE CONSTRUCTION FOR COIN CONTBOLLED MACHINES Nov. 24,T925 Filed May 1'7l 1922 -EIB u' bw su l 2 l i 3 v 3 w ,4. d

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Patented Nov. 2-ft, 1925.

v'UNITED STATES PATENT orifice.

ARTHUR Vf. BARNARD, OF NEWTON CENTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

CHUTE CONSTRUCTION FOR CON-CONTROLLED MACHINES.

Application filed May 17, 1922. Serial No. 561,758.

To all whom t may concer/1t:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR lV. BARNARD, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Newton Center, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts. have invented certain new and useful Improvements inChute Construction for Coin-Controlled Machines; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in coin-controlled machines andmore particularly to means for controlling the passage of a coin wherebysome of the coins will be conducted to a receptacle within the casing ofthe machine and other coins returned to a patron,*my improvements beingintended for usey with coin-controlled means for scales, but may beemployed with other machines in which a controlling part is operated bya coin deposited into the machine.

lVith coin return devices as heretofore constructed, considerable lossto patrons has occurred by reason of the placing of a barrier, such asa. wad of paper, in the coin outlet just above the coin return cup andout of sight of the patron, which barrier would operate to cause anaccumulation of returned coins just above the cup instead ofbeingdelivered to the patrons. The accumulated coins could afterwards beobtained by an unauthorized person by simply removing the wad or barrierand thus rob patrons of coins which they should have received.

An object of my invention is to obviate the above mentioned defect, ofreturn coin devices as heretofore constructed and to provide a coinpassage in which the coin can be viewed by the patron from the time thatit enters a visible chute until it has either been discharged into acoin receptacle within the casing of the machine or returned to thepatron, and thus prevent the employment of a wad or barrier which couldwithout the presence of such barrier being denoted to the patron.

lVith this and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafterdescribed and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of acoin chute construction and coin return means embodying myimln'ovements. Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 2 2of Figure l, and Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3of Figure l.

My improved chute construction may be mounted in any suitable manner inthe front wall of the casing of a coin controlled machine, such asscales for example, and it comprises a plate l provided at its sideedges with longitudinal bars or frame members 2 l'iaving grooves 3 intheir inner portions to receive the side edge portions of a glass frontplate Sar-said grooves being so located that the glass front will beproperly spaced from the back plate l to permit the free passage of acoin through the chute formed by these parts. The back plate l isprovided with numerous pins et which extend across the chute to theglass front and cause the coin to travel in a circuitous route throughthe chute. My improved coin chute is appreciably greater in width thancoin chutes commonly employedand it is provided near its lower end andcentrally between its side edges with a coin return device. This devicemay be termed a coin return cup7 and it may consist of a tubular portion5 which is passed through a suitable hole in the glass front plate andof suliicient length to extend to the back plate 1,-said tubular portionhaving a circular flange disposed against the outer face of the glassfront and may be cemented or otherwise secured thereto. That portion ofthe tubular part of the coin return cup which extends across the chutespace is provided in its upper portion with a slot 6 which communicateswith the lower portion of said chute space and is sufficient in size topermit the passage into said cup of a coin.

After a coin shall have passed the device in the machine which it hasoperated, it will fall directly into the upper end of my improved chuteand travel downwardly through the same until it reaches the lower endportion, from which it may escape by passing through the open lower endof the chute and be directed by any suitable means to a coin receptaclewithin the casing of the machine. Some of the coins may so travelthrough the chute that they will fall into the coin return cup. It isevident that by locating the coin return cup with respect to the glassfront of the chute as above de- Seribed, it will be impossible to chokethe eoin eup with en invisible barrier Which might, in otherconstructions, cause an acenmulation of coins invisible to the patron,and furthermore should Sueh choking of the eoin eup be attempted, thepatron could easily see through the glass front Whether any eoin wouldfall upon such barrier and be permitted to escape through the eoin receptaele witl'iin the easing :of the machine.

'Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire toSecure by Let- `ters-Patent, is;

l. A coin .chute for coin-controlled mw ehines having n traneparentfront extending to the lower terminal of the chute, and a tubular coinreturn member inserted through the transparent front above the lower endthereof whereby an obstruction in said eoin return member 1will bevisible at the front.

2. A coin ehute for coin-controlled muehines having a transparent frontextending to the lower terminal of the chute, and u straight tubularcoin return member inserted axially through the transparent front abovethe lower end thereof whereby un obstruction in the coin return memberWill be visible at the front of the chute, the rear end of theeoinreturn member abutting the bach of the chute and there being?y uCoin-receiving opening in the top of the member between the front andbueh of the Chute.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification

